"Turtle Dream" work of Vietnamese photographer Nguyen Ngoc Thien

According to Thien, the wining photo named "Turtle Dream", was captured in early September 2022, during a scuba diving trip to the Perhentian Sea in Malaysia.

For this particular award, photographers are judged against others from their country of origin, regardless of which of the 10 categories the photo was submitted to. This therefore creates competition across various "open" categories, including portraits, architecture, nature, still life, and travel. Ultimately, the panel of judges must choose the best photo from each country, regardless of its subject matter.

This year, the Sony World Photography Awards 2023 received over 200,000 entries from 200 countries worldwide.

Most notably, 61 National Award winners were chosen from the Open category.

The winners will be presented with a Sony digital imaging kit, as well as gaining visibility through the World Photography Organisation channels.

The winners will also have their photos featured in the Sony World Photography Awards book and an exhibition scheduled to take place at Somerset House in London, from April 14 to May 1.

The Sony World Photography Awards competition has been running for several years and has so far garnered millions of submissions.